1. Every month we put an U2 fan in the spotlights, the fan of the month September of 2014 is user JuJuman. Read along for the interview we had this this U2 fan.

    "What is distinctive, and unique, about U2? The raw energy, the passion, Bono's voice, the unique sound, the intensity, the excitement they feel when they play, some amazing songs."

    Tell us something about yourself, who are you and what do you do for a living?
    I am originally from Italy (Trastevere, Rome!), but the family from my mother's side is French, from Paris and Brittany. I now live in the UK, near Canterbury, in lovely and picturesque Kent. My partner is Belgian, from a small village near Leuven. Next year we'll be moving to Salzburg, Austria - I'll be taking up a new job there. I guess we are truly European family! I am a University Lecturer: I research and teach Philosophy, especially, but not only, logic and logic-related topics. I really love it - I got to turn one of my favourite hobbies into a job. Before turning to Philosophy, I was (trying to be) a classical musician: I have a cello diploma; for two years I was a member of the Italian Youth Orchestra (OGI), based near Florence. We toured Italy and Europe, but that was a long time ago...

    Getting back to the present, it is now a thrilling, if intimidating, moment for us: next year we'll be moving to a new country again, and... we'll be three! If all goes well, there'll be a JuJuman or a JuJulady jr

    How did you become a fan of U2, tell us how it happened?
    When I was 12, I was very much in love with a girl in Rome, who had U2 cassettes and a VHS of Rattle & Hum. We watched the movie and, especially, listened to Joshua Tree and Under a Blood Red Sky. That was the initial input; then it was love at first sight (with U2!). I started getting the other records (I especially fell in love with TUF and Boy), and buying bootlegs - they were legally sold in music shops at the time. Bologna 1985 and Chicago 1987 (April 29) were my very first bootlegs - I initially rented them and then bought them. I listened to them over and over again, and soon laid my hands on more and more bootlegs. The next step was Achtung Baby and the Zoo TV era. My girlfriend at the time offered me the album for Christmas 1991; later in 1992 I bought my first Zoo TV boot - second night, the Miami gig. What a voice, and what a big and exciting step U2 had taken! A trip to Ireland in 1991 helped cement it all, and getting a sense of where U2 were coming from. Ireland is such a green and beautiful country!

    Then I went to see U2 in Rome in 1993. I had bought tickets for Milan 1992, but my parents didn't let me go... that was one of the biggest raws I ever had with them. What did I miss... Anyway: Rome next year was a standard show, and a short one too, but it was mind blowing all the same - I was 1m from Bono on the small stage, I can still feel the emotion whenever I think about it. Not just being so close to a rock star, but the whole Zoo TV thing. It really worked; it was mind blowing. Since then there was no coming back - I'll be a fan for life, no matter what they do!

    I should also mention: the U2start website very much helps keeping the flame alive. This is such a nice community; the bootleg collection is simply impressive. The website has really improved over the years. I must wholeheartedly thank all of you who are in charge: for providing such a fantastic (and important) service to the U2 community, and for doing it so well!

    What are your expectations for U2's next album? Do you think it will be their last?
    I certainly look forward, but I’m not holding my breath. It'll be hard to top albums such as JT and AB [but I'd love to be proven wrong!]. OL is a good song; Invisible is a bit more than good - play count wise it is up there on my Itunes. So U2 certainly still has the potential to produce outstanding music. But they're probably not as fresh as Coldplay, irrespectively of the music they make [but - again - I'd love to be proven wrong!]. Coldplay's last album is good, but certainly not stellar. No real rocky numbers like Invisible. Yet, the video of Magic gets 36 million viewers on Youtube; invisible a bit less than 6. I like Invisible more, but - I must concede - Magic sounds fresher, and has something special, and new. On the other hand, Bono may be setting the bar a bit too high. I hope they are now focusing on simply enjoying making music - like Bowie and Noel Gallagher are doing [actually, I hope they are now *mixing*, or shooting cover photos in a super secret location!]. If Bowie had declared - and kept declaring - that he still wanted to be relevant etc., the press might have not greeted TND as favourably as they did.

    Whether it will be their last album... I don't think so: U2 have still a lot in the pipeline, and I think their next album will be good - so there will almost inevitably be a follow up [here I'd *hate* to be proven wrong!]. Hopefully they'll keep making music for more than a decade or so. A distinct question may be when they will stop touring. At the end of their 50's? In their 60's? Either way, they'll have to accept that they are growing older, and possibly smaller.

    What do you think of Bono's charity works?
    All good, and important, stuff. I fully support it. Too much talk during the Vertigo tour, though!

    In a house fire, which one of your U2 items would you save?
    My 1991 copy of AB - with love letter from the girlfriend at the time who offered it as a Christmas present, and 1993 Rome Zoo TV ticket inside. If I had a few spare seconds left, my next item would be a double LP bootleg of one of the Brixton Academy shows in 1984. Mind blowing stuff - it was very recently circulated here at U2start.

    What does your U2 collection look like? What kind of stuff do you have and how is it organised?
    Nothing special, I think. It includes pretty much every official CD and DVD. Lots of CD bootlegs - I don't know how many exactly, but lots. Some LPs, such as the singles of Angel of Harlem and Desire, and a few bootlegs, including Dublin 30/12/1989 - the night before the famous dream it all up again show. The collection is scattered, though: the LPs are in Rome; some items such as AB 20th are in Munich, where I worked for one year and still have a pied a terre (long story); the rest is at home.

    I also hold on dearly to the tickets of the shows I went to see: Rome 1993, Rome 1997, Rome 2005, Amsterdam and Sheffield 2009, Paris 2010. (For what is worth: Rome stands out - it was Zoo TV after all, and my first show! But the next best is probably Amsterdam 2009, first night. *Amazing* vocal performance - U2 didn't sound so fresh and powerful since Zoo TV first and second leg, I think.)

    Which U2 song do you feel the most "attached" to, or means the most for you?
    Difficult question! It really depends on the moment. I’ve recently had to make a tough decision - whether to move to Austria or stay here in Kent, where we had just recently bought a nice XVII century cottage... work opportunities for my partner, nice colleagues in Austria, and, well, the Alps (about which more below), eventually weighted for Austria. But it wasn't an easy decision. During the time I had to choose I slept very little, and had to listen a lot to, among other things, WOWY, the album version. Beautiful, dramatic, and so perfectly poignant.

    Two very big songs on my book are also Bad - my favourite song when I first started listening to U2, and probably also now. And EBTTRT, 2011 version - what an opener!

    What is your favorite U2 videoclip, and why?
    Tough one too! I'd say EBTTRT. The song is absolutely gorgeous. The video is just the right video for the song: Zoo TV, the flashing images, cool outfits, the revolving camera, sex, rock n roll - all is in there. Videos aren't just about the music, and the top visual era for U2 was certainly 1991-93 - the Zoo TV years.

    How different is U2 compared to other artists that you like?
    What is distinctive, and unique, about U2? The raw energy, the passion, Bono's voice, the unique sound, the intensity, the excitement they feel when they play, some amazing songs... Compared to Coldplay, they are more rock n roll, and have more power. Chris Martin is great, and Coldplay are a great band. But Bono's right: he is a bit of a wanker! (In a friendly sense...) Compared to Oasis, U2 are certainly more uplifting, and their catalogue is (so much) more varied. Compared to the Stones: that's tricky. The Stones probably have more energy, even now (!). I recently watched some videos of them playing with Mick Taylor. Wow. And there's that video somewhere of Bono trying out his contribution to Mick Jagger's Joy, in front of Jagger. You must watch the video if you haven't already. Bono tries singing some lines, he isn't so convincing (his voice wasn't great at the time too - I think he was having some issues). Jagger looks at him as he'd look at a schoolboy - then *he* sings. Wow, again. Jagger is the ultimate rock n roll icon - the real thing. But U2 are bigger than their component parts. And - I'd say - U2 as a whole are bigger than the Stones: more uplifting, more varied (that's easy...), more intense, more emotional. The Stones, especially with Mick Taylor, are technically and musically pros: unlike U2, who are always learning, they have the blues, and the rock n roll, in their blood... On the other hand, a U2 concert is something of a religious, uplifting experience; I'm not sure whether that's also true of a Stones concert. So I'd say there's something special in U2's music that's not to be found in the Stones. Who else is there... Bowie: Bowie is a giant, in a league of his own. Can't be compared to U2 - also because Bowie isn't a band. Bowie's history, discography, achievements, and persona are impressive. But then this makes one appreciate, once more, what is distinctive and unique about U2: they're a real band, a collective entity; they need, love, and respect, each other - this shows, both on record, and live. It gives them a strength that solo artists may lack.

    What are your hobbies and interests away from U2, musical or otherwise?
    I sometimes play the cello again, but my single biggest hobby is everything mountain-related. In particular, I love skitouring: you go up some big mountains in Winter and especially Spring, and instead of walking down 2500+ meters like you'd do in Summer, you ski down, and enjoy... When I'm up there, I often feel like I'm the first man on Earth; I also met one of my closest friends in the mountains (mountains naturally make for strong bonds - one ends up living all kinds of adventures). Philosophy is also up there: I love my research; writing books and papers, and I very much enjoy teaching too. And family of course!

    Music: I have a very classic taste I suppose, although I'm recently discovering quite a few new bands, also thanks to U2start (e.g. Puddinghead and, a while ago, Tired Pony). I started from The Beatles and Pink Floyd - Abbey Road was the first rock n roll album I listened to, when I was 8. I used to be into Nirvana (went to see one of their last shows!); now I'm more into everything Danger Mouse related: Broken Bells, Black Keys etc. I also saw Oasis, Noel G, and Beady Eye - the Beady Eye show was actually really cool. Songs are not top, but Liam's a true rock star. I saw Broken Bells recently, and they were amazing. What a band. And much more, and classical music - I still very much love it. Even though, as Bono says, rock n roll is sexier



    Thanks for this interview JuJuman!

    Note: Our crew members randomly pick fans of the month, you can't sign up for it.
  2. That was a great read, Julien, thank you!
    I'm curious: do you use formal mathematics (set theory, categories) in your logic studies?
    Skitouring sound like a lot of fun! I should try some day before I die.
  3. U2: they're a real band, a collective entity; they need, love, and respect, each other.

    Wow


    Great interview, Jujuman (Doc says yo'ure fine - or dying). We already knew you BUT having a full interview about your current life, your fandom start and all is ... well, almost better than the real thing The real thing will come when we meet at Rome 2015, yeah?
  4. Excellent read Jujuman! thank you very much!
  5. Originally posted by LikeASong:U2: they're a real band, a collective entity; they need, love, and respect, each other.

    Wow


    Great interview, Jujuman (Doc says yo'ure fine - or dying). We already knew you BUT having a full interview about your current life, your fandom start and all is ... well, almost better than the real thing The real thing will come when we meet at Rome 2015, yeah?

    Thank you, Sergio - indeed!
  6. Originally posted by cesar_garza01:That was a great read, Julien, thank you!
    I'm curious: do you use formal mathematics (set theory, categories) in your logic studies?
    Skitouring sound like a lot of fun! I should try some day before I die.

    Thank you! I'm not really a set- or category-theorist, but I do use tools from formal logic (and many of my friends are indeed set- or category-theorists).

    You should indeed try skitouring!!
  7. Great read !